Lions lose Faf to lure of the pound

Published19th May 2017

This from supersport.com:

Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk signed a three-year contract with English Premiership side Sale Sharks because his South African Super Rugby Lions team could not match the financial package, the team’s chief executive said on Thursday.

A weak rand currency has spurred a stream of South African players to leave the country for teams in Europe.

“The player made a personal request to be released to further his career abroad and we felt we couldn’t stand in his way while. We also couldn’t match the offer he received,” said Rudolf Straeuli, chief executive officer of the Lions Rugby Company.

Straeuli said de Klerk would move to Sale once the Super Rugby season had concluded.